Soul Mates
by MyFix
Summary: Post-game. After the final battle, everybody on the Normandy is feeling relieved. But something is holding Thane back and Shepard aims to find out just what.


**I felt the need to write some fanfiction despite never really being a writer of any sort and despite never actually playing the game... ^^;**

**What I know is from youtube and other fanfictions so please excuse any inaccuracy and while I appreciate your advice, this is my first fanfic so please be gentle on me!! XD**

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When she woke, he was already gone.

Of course it made sense that he would leave early, if anyone had seen that life support was empty, they would have grown suspicious. Mordin already knew too much and she didn't want the rest of the crew knowing about their relationship as well, at least not like that.

Shepard leaned over to her bedside table, reaching for the medicine and ointments Mordin had given her. She was already beginning to feel a burning sensation on her skin but the ointment helped relieve that. She threw back a couple of pills into her mouth and swallowed them without water, then she quickly pulled on some clothes and called for the elevator.

When the door opened, she saw him. Thane was standing there, hands behind his back; his usual stance. He welcomed her by slightly bowing his head.

"Shepard" he greeted in his deep, gravely voice.

It amazed her that despite how much things had changed, he had still remained the same calmly collected and slightly intimidating assassin that first walked onto the Normandy some time ago, that is of course, unless they were alone. When they had both been in her quarters last night after the fight against collectors, he had seemed slightly sidetracked though. She wondered what was on his mind.

It was then Shepard noticed Thane wasn't the only one who was in the elevator. Tali, who had also taken the trip up to the top floor was there.

"Good morning Shepard" she said in a bright and cheery tone. "Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning Tali" Shepard replied as she stepped into the elevator, "I slept very well thank you, now that the Collectors have been dealt with, it feels like a weight off my shoulders"

"That would explain it…" said Tali, folding her arms and transferring her weight onto one of her hips.

"Explain what?" asked Shepard curiously.

"You've been asleep for over 18 hours"

Shepard blinked in disbelief.

"We were waiting for you in the mess hall and when you didn't come, I went to check on you. Thane decided to come along too"

She continued.

"EDI assured us you were fine, but we wanted to check on how you were doing for ourselves"

Shepard looked at Thane, he nodded at her slightly, letting her know of his relief. Either because he could now see that she was fine or because their timing had meant Tali didn't see the aftermath of their night together. Their secret was safe for now.

The door opened on Deck 3, they exited the elevator and headed for the mess. There, Garrus and Kelly were sitting at one of the tables.

"Commander!" Kelly stood as she saw them approaching.

"You had us worried there, Shepard" The turian turned to face her.

"Sorry" Shepard said as she approached a table. "I guess sleep finally caught up with me"

"No need to apologise" Garrus waved his arm casually, gesturing for her to join them.

"I'm just glad you managed to get everyone out alive, Commander, you well deserved that rest!" Kelly exclaimed, patting her on the back reassuringly.

Shepard, Kelly and Tali took a seat at the table with Garrus. Shepard turned to see Thane standing off to the side.

"Are you going to join us?" She asked, giving him a curious smile.

"No" Thane replied "I have something I need to get back to, please excuse me"

He turned and headed back toward life support. Shepard's heart sank. Thane had never really been the most social person but now that the Collector threat was over, she was hoping he would celebrate with them. Instead, he isolated himself.

"Hmm? Something on his mind maybe?" Garrus asked quietly as soon as Thane was out of sight.

"I guess with the mission over, all he has to look ahead to now is his untimely death" Kelly replied, saddened by the thought.

Shepard knew all too well of this, but it still shocked her to hear it from someone else's' mouth. With little hope for a cure, all Thane could do now is prepare for his own funeral.

The group sat in silence for a while until gradually, they all left to get back to what they were doing. Shepard sat with an untouched plate of food in front of her, she didn't feel like eating, not now. She was about to get up when Dr. Chakwas; who rarely left the med lab (especially after their last mission, with all the injuries they attained), spotted her and sat down at the table she was at.

"Something troubling you?" Dr. Chakwas asked her, leaning over the table with a concerned look on her face. Shepard wasn't the type of person you could easily read, she could usually hide her emotions with little effort, it came with the job. But Chakwas wasn't just anybody, years of being a doctor taught how to distinguish those of which who were under emotional stress.

Shepard nodded.

"Thane…" Shepard started, "He's beginning to get more and more isolated"

Chakwas read the concern in her eyes.

"I can imagine Mr. Krios would have a hard time opening up to just anyone after what has happened in his past." Chakwas leaned back. "I guess you should count yourself as one of the lucky ones"

Shepard looked up in at her in surprise, Chakwas had a slight smirk on her face.

"How did-" Shepard started before she was interrupted.

"When you've been in the military as long as I have, you can tell these things" Chakwas reached for Shepard's arm.

"Also, this" She pointed to an area of Shepard's skin which had began turning a slight shade of red. "Human to drell skin contact has some side effects. I've noticed you have had these for some time now and they aren't something you can get from just combat"

Shepard pulled her arm back and tugged at her sleeve, attempting to cover it. So Mordin hadn't blabbed after all.

"He hasn't talked to me properly since the last mission" Shepard announced, suddenly trying to change the subject back.

Dr. Chakwas had a comforting smile on her face.

"If he were to share what was troubling him to anyone, it would be you"

With that, she left to grab some lunch before returning to eat it in the medical lab.

Shepard cleaned up her plate and got into the elevator. She paused as she glanced at life support and as the elevator door closed, she suddenly put her hand out to stop it. When it opened again, she headed towards life support. Even if he wasn't ready to talk about it, perhaps she could say some things that were on her mind.

The door opened and directly in front of her was Thane. It gave her a bit of a fright and she jolted back a little. It looked as though he was about to leave.

"Siha…" He said in an almost whisper. They stood there for a while, looking into each others eyes. He saw the look of concern and determination on her face slowly melt into one of sadness. His eyes followed her as she walked around him and into the room. The door closed as they moved away from it. Shepard leaned against the desk that sat in front of the window, overlooking the Normandy's core. Thane stood behind her.

"I had just finished writing to Kolyat" Thane came to stand next to her. "What's on your mind, Siha?"

She turned to face him.

"I want to know what's on _your_ mind, Thane"

He sighed and turned his back to the window.

"Please…" She begged him.

He glanced back at her. The look in her eyes told him she wasn't going to back down.  
"I apologise for worrying you, that's the last thing I wanted to do"

He contemplated for a moment then began.

"I expected to die, wanted to die, fighting to save a part of the galaxy. I needed to rectify my past and dying by saving the human race would be a worthy demise. That's why I joined your team"

He stopped for a moment, shuffled his feet, then went on.

"But as you know, recent events have led me to think about things differently. At first, I was so relieved when we survived the suicide mission."

Shepard felt a lump in her throat.

"But now...?" She asked him, trying to hold back the tears.

Thane furrowed his brow. It hurt him to see her like this, but he needed to finish what he had started.

"Now, I don't know what to do with my life. I have so much to live for and no time left"

Shepard couldn't hold her tears back any longer. Thane reached over and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't say that…" Shepard whimpered, "Don't say you have no time".

Thane stroked the hair back off her face and she looked into his dark eyes. Time seemed to slow and as she finally settled, he leaned in to kiss her. As their lips touched, her heart started racing. His lips were cool at first but she began to feel heat as he pressed them tighter to her. She moved her hands around him and he pulled her in closer, slipping his tongue into her mouth. She made a soft moaning sound and pushed her tongue against his, savouring his taste. He leaned her over the desk and left her mouth to place a trail of kisses down her soft neck. Arms wrapped tightly around him, one of her hands came to rest on the back of his roughly textured head. She shifted herself onto the desk, positioning herself underneath him as he leaned over her, placing his hands either side of her body. She reached up to passionately kiss him once more. Her cheeks still glistened with tears but she was done crying.

Thane leaned back into a stand. He moved his hand to wipe her cheeks and she held it between hers. She focused on him as she tried to get her bearings, the room was spinning slightly, another side effect Mordin had warned her about, and another she was getting all too familiar with. He gave her a moment to recover before pulling her up into an embrace.

"What do we do now?" She asked him as he cradled her against his body.

"The traditional thing for us to do would be to marry" Thane told her.

Shepard paused. Marriage had crossed her mind a couple of times, but she had never thought too much about it. Once she had entered the alliance military, her job was always going to come before her love life. But then again, she had never met someone like Thane up until now.

"But I guess we are not what you would call a traditional couple" She shrugged, chuckling a little.

"I would agree" She could swear she saw him smirk. At least they were both decided about one thing.

"I think… we are more like soul mates than anything"

"Soul mate?" Obviously this was another human term that didn't quite reach the rest of the galaxy.

"It means the one person in the whole universe you are meant to be with, the one who completes you" She smiled at him and he looked at her curiously "To me, that would be you"

"Soul mates…" He mused over the words "It is befitting. I of course, think the same of you"


End file.
